Holiness and the Missio Dei

In Holiness and the Missio Dei, Andy Johnson takes the reader on a biblical journey that explores the question of what holiness or sanctification has to do with God's mission in the world. He refuses to relegate the idea of humans becoming holy to the realm of individual inward piety or legalism, on the one hand, or to the realm of the impossible prior to Christ's return, on the other. Using a missional lens to guide the reader into a theological engagement with Scripture, Johnson argues that God's primary means of making us holy is through our participation in his saving, reconciling mission to bring creation to its intended destiny. As we become and remain part of an ecclesia, we are corporately and personally shaped by the Spirit into the image of the cruciform Son through participation in the missio Dei, and thereby are being restored into the image of the holy God--the imago Dei.

This book is written primarily for church leaders, for students, and for academics who are interested in missional readings of Scripture. It will challenge those who read it to re-articulate the church's becoming holy as being inseparably connected to its active participation in God's mission.


""Andy Johnson has written a theologically rich study of God's purposes for embodied holiness, tracing the pattern of this holiness throughout the biblical narrative of the missio Dei from creation to eschaton. Along the way, he takes 'soundings' in the Old Testament, focuses on the revelatory event of the incarnation, and sketches the development of 'contagious communities' of shalom in the New Testament. Johnson helpfully explores the biblical roots of a crucial theological theme with sensitivity and depth, to the benefit of the contemporary church.""
--J. Richard Middleton, Northeastern Seminary at Roberts Wesleyan College

""In a cultural context of conquest and power, the people of God live oddly as followers of the crucified Jesus. Andy Johnson compellingly reminds us of our calling. The mission of God is unachievable apart from the way of Jesus. It is high time we embraced this.""
--Dan Boone, President, Trevecca Nazarene University

""In this welcome volume, Andy Johnson provides a careful exegetical and theological examination of holiness in the biblical witness that demonstrates its inseparable relationship to participation in the mission of God. It also provides a compelling example of the shape and practice of a missional reading of Scripture. An important addition to the literature on missional theology and hermeneutics.""
--John R. Franke, Theologian in Residence, Second Presbyterian Church, Indianapolis; General Coordinator of the Gospel and Our Culture Network

""Today, 'mission' is in, 'holiness' out. Andy Johnson demonstrates not merely that holiness and mission can be linked together, but that the biblical story from Genesis to Revelation reveals how they are and must be connected--and in surprising ways. This highly perceptive yet accessible book is a rich feast, a must-read for all students, ministry practitioners, and academics concerned about the church's participation in God's mission.""
--Michael J. Gorman, St. Mary's Seminary & University, Baltimore, MD

Andy Johnson is Professor of New Testament at Nazarene Theological Seminary in Kansas City, Missouri. He is the author of 1 & 2 Thessalonians in the Two Horizons New Testament Commentary series (2016) and coeditor of Holiness and Ecclesiology in the New Testament (2007).